Partial strike at Rio de Janeiro airports set for opening day of World Cup

RIO DE JANEIRO — After a series of strikes have affected transportation and public security in the weeks leading up to the World Cup, a key group of workers at Rio de Janeiro’s two main airports has declared a partial strike starting Thursday, the day the tournament opens in São Paulo.

A union of airport staff that represents mechanics, maintenance workers and engineers called for a strike in the Galeão and Santos Dumont airports, and in the smaller Jacarepaguá airport. Some 80% of the airports’ staff will still work on Thursday.

In the northeastern city of Natal, which will host the Mexico-Cameroon match on Friday, the city’s bus union also announced a strike beginning on Thursday. The strike is expected to take 70% of buses out of circulation.

Strikes in key sectors have caused tumult in the lives of Brazilians in the past weeks, including a five-day paralyzation of metro lines in São Paulo that ended Monday. The governor has said that the state has a reserve force for the metro to function should a second strike occur. Many fans are expected to take the metro to Itaquerão Stadium for Thursday’s tournament opener between Brazil and Croatia.

Dramatic strikes starting in April by police forces in the states of Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco, all of which will host World Cup games, were accompanied by scenes of violence, vandalism and looting.